2 men shot at Lakeview gas station

The scene where two men inside a vehicle were wounded in the 3600 block of North Ashland Avenue.

The scene where two men inside a vehicle were wounded in the 3600 block of North Ashland Avenue. (WGN-TV)

William LeeTribune reporter

Two men were shot and seriously wounded while sitting in a tow truck at a gas station in the Lakeview neighborhood on the North Side, authorities said.

The men, tow truck drivers for separate firms, were sitting in the front seat of a truck in the 3600 block of North Ashland Avenue about 3:40 a.m. when a gunman approached and “fired several rounds into the truck,’’ said Town Hall District Police Lt. Jeffrey Hoffmann.

The men, ages 26 and 29, remained in critical condition at Illinois Masonic Medical Center early Thursday morning, police said. The younger of the two was shot in the head and the other suffered multiple wounds to his torso, police said.

One of the victims ran across the street to a bar as the shooter fled, the lieutenant said.

Someone there called 911 and the men were taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in serious to critical condition, according to the Chicago Fire Department.

The owner of the gas station said the victims got into an argument with another man. "They were there and some other guy came in," said Joey Skariah. "They were fighting."

Skariah said someone broke a windshield, and then shots rang out.

A bartender across the street said he thought the shots were firecrackers. "It's shocking," said Ron Walker. I saw a guy running toward the bar and I called 911."

Police were interviewing the wounded men about the circumstances of the shooting. Detectives will be examining surveillance video taken from cameras at the gas station, Hoffmann said.